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New York City’s holiday gift to public school families and educators: Monday, Dec. 23 will now be a day off.
Mayor Eric Adams and schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos were set to announce the move Wednesday afternoon at the headquarters of the United Federation of Teachers, according to two sources familiar with the decision.
The calendar change comes after mounting pressure from school communities warning that a one-day week before winter break would be sparsely attended. Brooklyn eighth grader Isaac Regnier last year petitioned the city to strike the day from the calendar, garnering nearly 23,000 signatures .
New York City officials should have been aware of the calendar quirk — and the conflict that it would cause.
In fact, the same thing happened five years ago.
When schools were slated to be in session on Monday, Dec. 23, 2019, a group of teachers petitioned to get it canceled , and ultimately were successful . The teachers behind that effort found old school calendars showing that schools were closed on at least four other occasions when Dec. 23 fell on a Monday.